#vengeful gop

[liberalsarecool]

MAGA/GOP is consistently the voice of abuse.

Trump is an abuser.

'Look what you made me do' is abuser talk.

Project 2025 is an abuser's dream: cruel, vindictive, vengeful, and built on patriarchy.

[beauty-funny-trippy]

Gov. Gavin Newsom of California said President-elect Donald Trump may seek to withhold federal disaster aid to California because it is a blue state, as multiple wildfires rage in and around Los Angeles. "He's tried to do it in the past," said Newsom. "He's not just done it here in California. He's done it in states all across the country." Former Trump White House official Mark Harvey said that Trump refused to authorize disaster aid for California in 2018 because it leans Democrat, but finally, with much convincing, reversed his position after learning that the affected area was in Orange County, which for generations had been a GOP stronghold. "We went as far as looking up how many votes he got in those impacted areas … to show him these are people who voted for you," said Harvey. Trump also withheld wildfire assistance for Washington state in 2020, and severely restricted emergency hurricane relief to Puerto Rico in 2017 because he felt these places were not sufficiently supportive of him. “It was clear that Trump was entirely self-interested and vengeful towards those he perceived didn’t vote for him,” said Kevin Carroll, a Trump administration official. “He even wanted to pull the Navy out of Hawaii because they didn’t vote for him." Olivia Troye, who was Trump's Homeland Security adviser, said “It was shocking and appalling to us to see a president of the United States behaving in this way. Basically if it doesn’t benefit him, he’s not interested." Trump is so cruel, vindictive and petty, he delights in punishing Americans while they're in the midst of dealing with devastating natural disasters — simply because they did not vote for him. He is clearly unfit to lead the nation. Trump's vengeful abuses of power are not the acts of a U.S. president. They are the acts of a tyrant.

[solarbird]

Holy crow, "Coach Walz" actually sticks, doesn’t it?

I mean, it helps that he actually was a coach, and for years. Football, even, on top of all that. He looks like a football coach – the good kind, the one who teaches you how to win but also teaches you sportsmanship and tenacity and all the good things high school sport is supposed to teach.

Probably helps that he was a teacher, and at the same time.

Before Coach caught on, though, he was also kinda instantly “Dad.” Coach took over, for obvious reasons, but even with that, he’s… he’s very Dad. He’s very Midwestern Dad in particular, but regardless of how you pronounce it, there’s a lot of Dad vibes in him and they’re not subtle and he’s not exactly playing them down.

Which is kinda funny, but in a good way, right?

Because for years now, the media (and the Republicans) have been leaning hard on the idea that the GOP were the “dad party” and the Democrats were the “mom party,” and using misogyny and resentment of mothers to push the electorate right. The fundamentalist movement – today’s Christofascists – really fed on that, as all fascists do, with their absolute hatred of women.

It really breached the waters hard earlier this past year, particularly amongst the base. There was forthright talk about it, and there were memes, cartoons of sneering, vengeful Trump striding across the US, captioned things like “Daddy’s coming home,” about how he’s going to punish you (liberals, women, queers), and put you in your place for all the things you did (like exist).

Basically, Daddy’s coming home and he’s going to beat you into line like you deserve, while they – daddy’s little sycophants – will get to watch and sneer along.

Sure, that’s near-zero-content vibes, rather than policies – other than the threats of course – but the Republicans haven’t been about policies for a long, long time, and Trump wiped what policy there was clean away.

And the media have never, not once, not seriously, held them to account for it – which is why no one should give a fuck about their whinging now about the Democrats doing a “vibes” convention.

Particularly not now that Coach is coming home. Because yeah, Coach Walz… Coach Walz is also a Dad. But Coach Walz Dad isn’t coming home to punish you. He’s not here to beat you into line.

Coach knows you’ve had a rough time of it lately – but Coach knows you’ve kept going, that you’ve stuck to it, that you’re still in there slugging away.

He’s not going to fix everything, obviously, nobody can do that. But if you want some help, he’s more than happy to bring some, because…

…because you haven’t given up…

…and he is so goddamn proud of you.

He the Dad who says, “No, no, it’s okay. Let’s clean up this mess – and then let’s go win this thing.” Because he’s also Coach.

If you’re someone who really wants to pick a Dad, if that’s how you pick who you want to elect… which one are you gonna pick? If you want a vibes election, fine, let’s have one: couch-molesting psychopath Vance vs. Coach Walz.

Trump and Trumpism have absolutely no idea what’s about to happen… no, what’s already happening to them.

So while it may not be the most sportmanlike thing to do… let’s run up the score.

Let’s absolutely blow them out, on every level, shall we?

74 days remain.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Steven Beschloss at America, America:

This is a strange, in-between moment, rippling with uncertainty stirred by a deeply vengeful man bent on destruction who will soon retake the ultimate levers of power. His hasty dumping of unqualified nominees—each one providing a different version of reckless endangerment to our nation’s safety and security—underscores the serious questions about how bad the coming months and years will be.

Will they mete out punishments to serve their boss’ whims, ending justice as we know it? Will we be able to rely on the safety of our food and water and drugs? Will diseases long abated by vaccines re-emerge as new and unnecessary dangers to our children and ourselves? Can we trust that our military will serve the American people rather than be transformed into a weapon against us? Will we face new attacks by foreign adversaries because our allies can no longer safely share intelligence with us? Will we suffer serious economic decline fueled by billionaires and reckless ideologues focused on expanding their own fortunes while demanding sacrifices from everyone else? Can we be sure that in 2026 there will be another election?

In turn, who will be the heroes of this time? Who will stand up and speak out, refusing to be cowed or ruled by fear? Who will take action to stop the demolition of our democracy? Who with power will demand that the practices and principles that have successfully driven the American system of government be recognized and followed? There are some early signs: Matt Gaetz was a road too far for Attorney General. The Senate chose South Dakota’s John Thune as its new majority leader, not Trump-backed lickspittle Rick Scott from Florida. Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, said categorically that he would not leave his post if Trump asked or tried to fire him. Alaska’s Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski announced she would oppose Trump’s nominees if they are not properly vetted by the FBI. “This isn’t about partisanship," she reportedly told close allies, "it’s about ensuring we don’t compromise the standards of public office." South Dakota’s other GOP senator, Mike Rounds, said this when asked about anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: “Look, I believe in vaccines. I think they’ve saved millions of lives.”

Will there be other GOP senators who find their spine in the coming months to confront Trump’s reckless decisions? Will we see Democrats oppose the coming onslaught with all the vigor and virulence they can muster? These would be leaders to notice and encourage. Let’s also pay attention to the critical role of state and local officials to protect their citizens and push back against the Trump-inspired federal efforts to deport millions of undocumented migrants and pursue myriad other actions that will cause damage to real people. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker best summarized this commitment: “You come for my people, you come through me.”

In this period, we will need fearless truth-tellers to remind us of the differences between right and wrong, true and false. They will be critical in asserting factual reality as the anti-government propaganda intensifies to justify extreme attacks on the agencies, procedures and resources established to create safety and security, particularly for at-risk people. Trump lackey and election denier Pam Bondi, nominated for Attorney General, has already pledged to prosecute the prosecutors. Trump chose Russell Vought, a chief architect of Project 2025, to lead the Office of Management and Budget, even though Trump said he knew nothing about the project’s policy agenda. Vought has already pledged to help impound any funds approved by Congress if the next president disapproves of their intended purpose—demonstrating utter disregard for the legislative body’s power of the purse enshrined in the first article of the Constitution.

Steven Beschloss wrote in his America, America blog on who will be the heroes to save America.

[waltwhitmansbeard]

percy, ripley, and the myth of redemption

this post contains spoilers for all of s3 of tlovm, including the final three episodes.

now that the dust has settled and i have said my piece about how i feel about tlovm as a whole, it's time for me to start complaining. i'll start my offering my standard disclaimer that i neither want nor expect a show like tlovm to be a faithful one-to-one recreation of the events of critical role campaign 1, and just because something is different, doesn't mean it's bad. distilling hundreds of hours of ttrpg actual play into a handful of half-hour episodes is an impossible task, and i do not envy all of those who took that task on while making tlovm. i will not be comparing the events of s3 to the events of c1, because they are different stories, and to compare them is folly.

that being said. what the fuck was the glintshore arc?

let's start with the attack on whitestone. why? what got accomplished? ripley lured percy to glintshore? and there were simply no other ways that could happen? ripley is responsible for percy's torture as a teenager and contributed to the slaughter of his family and the oppression of his hometown. this is bad enough. then she sells that hometown out a second time, so...percy would want to go after her? he already wants to go after her. a second round of horror in whitestone only serves to make percy's desire to bring an end to her reign of terror even more justified, but it doesn't add anything new.

so he goes to glintshore, vox machina in tow. and he's kidnapped again. something something two nickels. he's shown that ripley is working with orthax to spread guns across exandria. he's shown that ripley believes, to her core, that spreading guns will save lives (hello gop, is that you?) and that she willingly teamed up with orthax to do this. add this to the pile of reasons she needs to be stopped, now.

fight breaks out, it's hot, ngl, and percy's got her at gunpoint. and then...he tries to reason with her??? for why????

there is a world where this makes sense to me. it's a world in which percy is not alone, and vox machina is by his side. the people who redeemed him. the people who saw him in the throes of orthax's control and knew he could be better, that he deserves the chance to be better. in this world, percy remembers vex's hand reaching out to him, remembers darling, take of the mask. and he falters. he doesn't want to disappoint her.

and then vex snipes ripley through the fucking neck.

because the different between percy and ripley, the difference that this show never actually highlighted, is that percy fought. he shot through his own hand and was moments from literally killing himself, all to stop orthax's control and influence. percy did terrible things because of orthax, but he fought.

ripley didn't fight, because ripley saw orthax's bloodthirty desire for vengeful murder as a feature, not a bug. ripley could not be redeemed like percy could, because ripley didn't want better. she wanted violence. she craved the misery, deluded herself into thinking it was power.

but in this world, where percy is not alone and vex's voice is in his ear, i could understand a hesitation. i could understand vex being the one to do what he could not, when he feared losing himself once again to the drug of vengeance. in this world, the redemption makes sense.

but that's not the world we got. we got percy, alone, being shown explicit, overwhelming evidence that ripley is not just a threat to him, to vox machina, to cass, to whitestone, but to quite literally all of exandria. percy has a job to do now, as a Hero of the Realm. killing ripley would probably feel satisfying, but even if it didn't, it not about vengeance anymore. it's about stopping a mass murderer before the mass murder. and ripley demonstrated that she was willing, happy to fight percy to the bitter end, to do whatever it took to see her vision come to fruition. the attempt at redemption, in this world, does not look like percy hesitation, like percy wanting to do the right thing. it looks like percy being a naive moron, which, hey, you can call percy a lot of things, but a naive moron is not one of them.

which is why, when he gets shot, all i could think was...yeah. that's what you get, dumbass. play stupid games, win stupid prizes. this wasn't ripley getting the better of him, this wasn't vox machina giving their all and just not being quite enough, this wasn't the power of orthax coming for him once again. this was batman claiming to be better than the villains he refuses to kill while those same villains escape arkham yet again to poison the water supply.

and this is why redemption stories in general are so tiresome to me. they come packaged with this idea that taking steps to stop bad people from doing bad things makes you a bad person too. and yeah, in the real world, cops obviously suck, and violence for the sake of stopping violence is usually not great. but in fictional narrative, in the kinds of stories where the stakes are literal hordes of dragons attacking your hometown, pretending that real-world morality applies is ridiculous. i'm supposed to suspend my disbelief about the smoke demon giving this bitch two extra arms but not about whether killing her is a good idea???

so percy dies, because he's dumb, and i feel nothing. it's not helped by the truly atrocious song that plays when the rest of vox machina finds his body, a song that someday someone will have to answer for. i don't actually hate the decision to have percy stay dead. first of all, he deserves it. second of all, it's a nice nod to taliesin's original desire to have percy die permanently after glintshore in c1, except for vex's nat 20. it also sets up the vaxleth get-together, which in c1 also happens after a friend's death, just a different friend. and then vox machina is fractured, and the twins go off to avenge percy alone.

i actually like this. not only was the boat fight sequence dope as hell, but it gets to what i believe should have happened at glintshore: percy's friends understanding the real threat that ripley faced and doing whatever it took to stop her. it also gives us the fact that percy's soul is trapped in ripley's gun, a fact teased by the fact that vax never saw the matron come for percy's soul.

and so we get the reclamation of percy. my thoughts on this ritual, and its ultimate effect on vax, are separate to this topic—perhaps that'll be another too-long essay someday. in this ritual, vax finds percy working endlessly at a forge, making a gun, utterly detached from who he is and who he loves. orthax tells vax that percy is where he belongs, that he deserves this eternal torment. of course, vax does not stop trying to reach out to him, and it is vex's final confession of love that connects with percy and brings him back to the land of the living. a second redemption.

but again, how am i supposed to feel about this in the wake of the failed ripley redemption? why am i meant to believe that vox machina defying a goddess to bring percy back is good (especially when it's pretty clear that it's going to lead to vax's eventual death), but percy never should have attempted to connect with ripley instead of killing her? i know why i feel that way, but i don't know why the show wants me to feel that way. if anything, this show has bent over backwards to draw parallels between ripley and percy; if anything, i should now feel bad for ripley, because maybe the only thing that was stopping her from seeing the light was a romantic love reaching out through the darkness.

of course, i don't believe that to be true. ripley was an existential threat to the world that needed to be eliminated. percy is a good person who has done bad things and who, when he dies, does not deserve to be trapped in a demon's hell gun. but because tlovm doesn't have any clear ideas or stances about right and wrong and morality, their redemption stories don't end up working.

(side note, but i think percy's resurrection ritual was the time to showcase the ritual mechanics from the campaign, which was arguably fine to skip for vex's resurrection in c1 because that was such a fast spell. but having only vex be the one to be able to bring percy back really does undermine the notion that vox machina is a family and that they are all invested in the wellbeing and happiness of each other.)

i don't know if any of this made sense. even though i actually did enjoy the way the stuck the landing with the percy situation in s3, i can't help but feel narratively let down by the glintshore of it all. it doesn't make sense for percy, it doesn't make sense for this story, and it makes me want to once again grab writers by the throat and remind them that redemption never, ever, ever happens in a single moment. it will always be a series of intentional actions that demonstrate the redeemed person's desire to do and be better. when you try to make redemption a Moment, you will always look dumb as hell.

[qqueenofhades]

I was about to ask about the mccarthy thing myself, since I'd opened my email and saw it in big blaring letters, because my immediate fear is that... they'll go through with it just to get rid of biden. the way they didn't impeach trump despite the evidence, I don't know why the republicans /wouldn't/ impeach biden on /no/ evidence just to support their own ends, and... I don't know. I guess I just wanted reassurance that that wouldn't be the case?

Well for one thing, it won't get rid of Biden either way. They can put together a spurious impeachment inquiry with no evidence, they can vote on it (and pass it, even, though that would be hella hard for McCarthy to actually do), but as we all saw with both Trump's impeachments, being impeached in the House alone doesn't remove the president from office. The Senate also has to convict and vote to remove, which they won't do, and it won't even come up for a vote because the Democrats control it. So the GOP can pursue a hyper-partisan, baseless impeachment inquiry with zero evidence that will make them look like clowns, but a) it sure as hell won't help them hold the House (especially with those 18 vulnerable Republicans in Biden districts) and b) won't remove Biden from office. But hey, they will have technically impeached him just because Trump ordered them to for vengeful grievance performance theater! Which once again, I don't think McCarthy has the votes to even do, so like. Sure, you can look like morons and achieve absolutely nothing if you want. Good luck with that, it's what you do all the time anyway. It sure as hell doesn't make you any more popular.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

THE BIG SPLIT

TCinLA

The circus came to town in DC for the past four days and did a good job of displaying why the Republicans are in a lot of trouble.

The CPAC clown show, er, I mean shitshow, er, I mean conference, is proof of the difficulty the party will have in keeping their increasingly fractured coalition together for 2024.

A mere 40 years ago, the Republican Party was defined by overall ideological unity on three conservative principles: free markets, a muscular foreign policy and traditional social values.

Those three pillars were the heart of the Reagan revolution. No more.

The MAGA movement, which clearly took over this year's CPAC conference, has moved the party to a protectionist, populist, belligerent outlook. The one issue that appears to still unite the GOP is fighting "wokeness," which even former House speaker Paul Ryan - called a RINO last night and targeted for “removal” by Trump in his Nuremberg Rally speech - cited as his primary reason for continuing to support and be involved with Faux Snooze in a combative interview last week with his formr friend and ally, Charlie Sykes.

No more free markets. For the past year, companies such as Disney and PNC Bank that are proud to publicly showcase their commitment to progressive values that embrace diversity have come under attack, with Governor InSanity declaring he will control the content creatd by Disney to prevent further attacks of “wokeness” on good god-fearin’ patriotic Amurrikins.

What was once the “Party of Lawn Ordure” sees Fraternity Freddie, er, I mean Matt Gaetz, call for defunding the FBI, CIA and other intelligence agencies if they don't “get back on our side." The goobers at CPAC gave him a standing ovation. Vivek Ramaswamy, a venture capitalist and GOP presidential candidate issued a call for the FBI to be dismantled and replaced with something else.

Trump’s keynote address last night was two hours of a vengeful indictment of the GOP establishment: "We will expel the warmongers, we will drive out the globalists, we will cast out the communists, we will throw off the political class that hates our country. The Republican Party was ruled by freaks, neocons, open-border zealots and fools. We're never going back to the party of Paul Ryan, Karl Rove and Jeb Bush.” He then pledged to protect Social Security from any Republicans pursuing reduced benefits.

This from a former president and current leading presidential candidate of one of the two major political parties of this country, who pushes his political campaign with a “music video” that has the “J6 Prison Choir” - the convicted insurrectionists now in the DC jail - singing “The Star Spangled Banner” while he shouts the Pledge of Allegiance.

Can it get crazier?

Well, yes, since you ask, it can.

Friday night, Marjorie Traitor Goon targeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in her speech, telling him to "leave your hands off of our sons and daughters." When asked about former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, both unapologetic Ukraine hawks, Congresswoman Goon replied "I don't listen to Nikki Haley and I don't think she's going to do well in the primary."

The Goonbimbo is probably right.

For those who think Governor InSanity will be a threat to the Trump Party, a top Trump adviser said that the governor has "Reagan Republican" vulnerabilities the former president will exploit.

“Reagan Republicans” are now “the enemy” in the looney half of what passes for the Republican Party today.

Trump knows his audience: he dominated DeSantis in the CPAC straw poll, 62%-20%, and saw improvement from his 2022 numbers when he led DeSantis 59%-28%. “Trump has completely remade the party since he’s become president,” a Trump aide said. “He realized there’s a difference between what grassroots activists thought and what Bush Republicans in Washington, D.C., were trying to enact.”

"In 2016, I declared I am your voice. Today I add: I am your warrior. I am your justice, and for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution. This is the final battle, they know it. I know it, you know it, and everybody knows it, this is it. Either they win or we win. And if they win, we no longer have a country." The neverwere’s, the neverwillbe’s, the lifetime losers, the Dilberts who know they’re the geniuses but no one will recognize them, they love this, this is why they support him. He’ll “get” all those people who pointed at them and snickered.

He also knows who the average wingnut moron is: a senile old white male boomer. "We're not going back to people that want to destroy our great social security system. Even some in our own party, I wonder who that might be. That want to raise the minimum age of social security to 70, 75 or even 80 in some cases, and then a route to cut Medicare to a level that it will no longer be recognizable."

“Get your government hands off my social security!” - the battle cry of the drunks in The Villages.

Two other declared GOP candidates, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, garnered 3 and 1 percent of the vote respectively. Michigan businessman Perry Johnson, who ran a Super Bowl ad for his long-shot campaign for the GOP nomination came in third with 5% of the vote. Senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, along with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, each had 1% of the vote to round out the tally board.

The straw poll also found 79% of attendees oppose U.S. military aid to Ukraine, while 74% want abortion regulated on the state (not federal) level.

Basically, Trump is prioritizing the 30% of Republicans who consider themselves "Trump-first Republicans," leaving his rivals to compete for backing among the shrinking minority who support the party first.

Trump declared he would run even if he was indicted, and the goobers cheered him. he will, too.

If four or five others enter the race and divide up that 70% who aren’t “Trump first” among them, Trump ends up with a plurality win in most of the coming GOP winner-take-all primaries, just like he did in 2016. And in that 70%, most of them already also agree with the policies Trump is promoting. For anyone else to win, they will have to adopt Trumpism hook, line and sinker, whatever they want to call it.

This morning, “moderate” “sane Republican” former Maryland governor Larry Hogan announced he is NOT running for president in 2024.

The media and the political elites want to find Anything But Trump to write about, unless it is clown shows like this past weekend at CPAC. The fact is that even the people claiming to not be Trump, like Hikki Haley, cannot find anything they disagree with him on when asked by interviewers. They announce that they too are supportive of the most recent Idiot Thing among Republicans, the way Paul Ryan defended Fox because it is “anti-woke,” though even he couldn’t describe was “woke” is and why it should be opposed, when asked. Either all of this, or they want to prove they could out-Trump Trump, as DeSantis is attempting to do with his non-campaign campaign for president.

What we have witnessed and are witnessing is a Republican party on steroids to turn the latest fringe belief or activity into the next mainstream definer of the party. This is because this is now a party bereft of ideas, that likely won’t have a convention and write a platform in 2024 because they don’t have new ideas and know that their old ideas are unpopular; this is why they no longer believe in democracy. It is now a badge of belief in the party that the Jauary 6 insurrectionists are “persecuted political prisoners,” that the footage that has been shown of the insurrection is faked.

The Republican Party is whatever a mentally-deficient, un-educable, lifelong cheat and liar says it is whenever he opens his mouth and words come out. Two hours of mendacity; malevolence; revenge fantasy; willful, chosen ignorance; and free association broadcast last night is today what the Republican Party believes and is about.

Until the next time he lets words fall out of his mouth.

People have asked, how did it happen in Germany in the 1930s - this is how it happened then and is happening now.

[TCinLA :: Thats Another Fine Mess]

[azspot]

The farcical Biden proceedings, built on a foundation of debunked conspiracy theories and loan repayments from relatives when he was a private citizen, turn the constitutional equivalent of a political death penalty into a tool of political retribution. Yet as the corrupt and vengeful Trump has shown, when the wrongdoing is massive and indisputable, lawmakers and courts shrink from taking it on.

Impeachment Is Just Another Word for Getting Even. Thanks, GOP.

[talkstothemoonandstars]

GOP congressman wants bishop ‘added to deportation list’ after Trump prayer service

Seriously.

https://www.kron4.com/news/national/gop-congressman-wants-bishop-added-to-deportation-list-after-trump-prayer-service/

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5098959-gop-member-wants-bishop-added-to-deportation-list-after-trump-prayer-service/

There's a slight problem: Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde was born December 10, 1959, in Summit, New Jersey.

Yes, Republicans are both that stupid...and that vengeful.

[facts4u2know]

Hell No! Joe Musn't Go!

7/19/24

I am shocked and appalled that Democratic party leaders would call for President Biden to step down because of his performance in an irrelevant 90-minute debate and baseless poll numbers.  It is absurd to think that the current Democratic ticket of Biden/Harris is not vastly stronger than a Harris/whoever ticket. I strongly believe that Joe Biden will again win the presidency in November. 

Bidenomics brought our country out of recession with record unemployment and powered it through the pandemic toward record economic growth, job creation, and wage gains.  Yet Biden has consistently lagged in the polls. Surprisingly, despite Biden’s debate performance, the failed attempt to assassinate Trump, and the euphonious GOP convention in which J D Vance was chosen as the VP candidate, the polls have changed very little, with Biden essentially tied in some national polls.

Most importantly, polls of registered voters show Biden outperforming, which is bad news for Trump because there are more women than men; women register at higher rates than men; women vote at higher rates than men; and women are highly incentivized to vote against womanizing, convicted- criminal Trump who picked the supreme court justices that overturned Roe vs. Wade.

With more than 100 days before the election, democrats have ample time to compare Biden’s worthy accomplishments as a person and as President to Trump’s infamous character and disastrous presidency – No contest.

On election day, when the campaigns are stripped down to a very simple choice – choose Biden and save democracy or choose vengeful wanna-be dictator Trump. It is impossible for me to believe that a majority of voters will vote for Despicable Donald.

[liberalsarecool]

The GOP war on women keeps getting worse, more vengeful. Red States are a disgrace.

[rennyji]

Nikki Haley-the sharp candidate with heart

the sharper candidate

I saw the state of the presidential GOP primary race on television today, given by Nikki Haley.

I do not mean to put pressure on one candidate over another, but we need someone sharp, and able to finish sentences and perspectives, as does Nikki Haley, or someone equally good who measures to the bar of hard work she set.

Something I extracted from her speech is her immense spirit for wanting to take on the uphill battle of not just becoming President of the United States, but on a more preliminary level: the nominee for the Republican Party.

What she's doing, and quite a lot at that, is what she is willing to do, just to become the "nominee of her party," even when the odds/statistics are stacked against her.

She shows grace and eloquence in speech and demeanor. It alludes to mental sharpness. She doesn't sound on low volume like Joe Biden, and she completes a thought, unlike Donald Trump.

Biden and Trump symbolize brain dullness. If there is a minimum age to become President (I think 35, so that a person has some life experience), shouldn't there be an age limit, as well, to address biological/genetic mental acuity?

On Trump completing a thought, this is what he said after winning one of the primaries - the quote is from The Daily Mail from his speech:

--- The quote:

"'These are very dishonest people and you're always fighting that, and just a little note to Nikki: She's not going to win,' Trump said. 'But if she did, she would be under investigation by those people in 15 minutes and I could tell you five reasons why already. Not big reasons. A little bit of stuff that she doesn't want to talk about. But she will be under investigation within minutes,' he said, introducing suspicion without specifying any particular inappropriate conduct."

My take: Now if Trump is so confident in his accusation, why doesn't he list the five reasons Haley should be under investigation? Who are "those" people? And really? "15 min?" And if they're "not big reasons," what is the accusation? It's how Trump talks. He makes a claim, walks a little backward, and gives no specification, after. What his supporters seem to like is his vengeful tone, which seems synonymous with raising America from the dead.

But what his supporters need to remember? Enthusiasm only last for so long, whether its sourced in vengeance or something else. What lasts is conviction and will power. Nikki Haley believes in her ability, she believes in this country, and she exercises immense will power to win support to her cause. Haley shows she can go the distance, that "she will be here" today, as well as "tomorrow", not just for the duration of the enthusiasm.

Today, 2/20/2024, when Trump got off the plane in - I think - South Carolina, he said, Nikki Haley? "...We had enough of her." Just at that, his supporters indicate their approval. But "enough of what?" What's the topic?

Trump never specifies. And his supporters don't care.

Everyone views the Reagan administration in high regard. If you were to look at the warm presence of Reagan congratulating someone or empathizing with someone, is he more like the vindictive Trump or the sociable Nikki Haley? Did the GOP just settle on someone who carries the most sway with people for a quick win? Seems like they settled for the quicker option to carrying out their agenda, from what's seen with the minimal progress in the House of Representatives, since the ousting of the Speaker and the endless Continuing Resolutions. Did the GOP give up on the substance or content of one's character for just the idea or notion of MAGA? Whose more likely to do the work of making America great again?

I'll be honest. I like Trump's drive to influence crowds and his determination in saying things like "we're going to drill" in Alaska. But did he actually build the great beautiful wall on the southern border, that he touted, and did he get Mexico to pay for it? All that influence and determination...and yet, Trump left the wall to be built under the Biden Administration, through restriction of funds allocated to building a wall, through the Impediment Act. And What kind of a wall was ultimately built? Not one made of solid stone, but of removable wooden pillars. If Trump did what he said he was determined to do, would it have resulted in the border crisis under the Biden administration?

Regarding Trump's influence of crowds... those people who fought to overturn the election under his suspicions - aren't they in jail while Trump returned to his life and endured his court cases? What about his lawyers? Did they get paid? What about the mayors, and congressman that supported him? Didn't he turn on them? What about Fox News contributors who suggest something to help him in his day to day chaos? Despite daily loyal support, doesn't he lash out against them on True Social or Twitter, by calling them RINOs? Some of those contributors, just yesterday were facing "fakes" accusations on Twitter, for constantly supporting him without the slightest Thanks.

***

If you can't express a difference of opinion to a leader, causally or comfortably, then you have what Alexei Navalny and his family went through in Russia.

If I need help because my car stopped working in the middle of the road, who's more likely to call me a cab: Donald Trump or Nikki Haley?! Who is likely to continue the argument on when life begins, or the "life of soul" (more than the body) begins - Haley, a mother of two? Or Trump, connected with two recorded infidelities and a related lost recent court case?)

Who is likely not to separate children from parents, when deporting illegal immigrants - Haley or Trump?

Who is likely to help their neighbor in countries across the world like Ukraine and Israel - Haley or Trump?

Who addresses China's potential to hack America's power grid - Haley or Trump? Haley.

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Biden? The gaffs are endless. You often see him wander from one direction of the podium to another, unsure of where to go, or forgetting where to go. This is after 8 years as VP and 4 years as President.

He was asked today, 2/20/24, "Who would you rather run against: Nikki Haley or Donald Trump?" He apathetically says, "He doesn't care."

And that's the thing. He is a well intentioned, accomplished individual. However, from such statements, from his low volume, especially in comparison to the enthusiasms of Trump, it's hard to wonder if he cares enough for action. Maybe Biden's tired... When asked about closing the border, Biden was heard saying "Congress doesn't give me the money." So that's it? You gave up? You have to assume he did, because for the past year alone, there's 5000 asylum seekers daily, according to an average, where there could be a total of 25000 asylum seekers, weekly. How can there be that many asylum seekers, weekly, for just this past year alone?

Then the current administration, that doesn't have money to close the border or build The Great Wall, finances health care, credit cards, & housing for asylum seekers, while San Francisco, alone, is lined with native homeless people on its streets.

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Nikki Haley is a candidate, who chooses to, and can, appear on CNN and Fox News, whereas Trump may not be CNN's favorite, and Fox News is conversely supportive of her contender. Nikki shows she can lead both parties, or both sides of the isle, just by being able to make comfortable appearances on both channels.

She is toiling away for a position, that her contender, Donald Trump, believes is assured to him.

While Trump uses non-mandatory court appearances to not debate or campaign, Nikki Haley is slaving away for a belief, a hope, a dream. Isn't that the process towards the American Dream? I heard in some shape or form, that the American Dream is money, power, & respect. While Trump rides on the praises of his affluence or the image of money, Haley clearly seeks the "respect," earning the power (and consequently the money/perks) of the Presidency. She makes this clear by standing her ground and knowingly going against statistics.

It reminds me of something I heard, growing up. I had a second cousin who was quite talented in academics. Me? My focus, was not that good. My second cousin became comfortable in what he saw as a sure thing to getting A's. We were a competitive pair. He felt so comfortable over the edge he had over me, he started taking it easy. I continued to toil away. I realized if my focus wasn't good, I can still do equally well by notating and memorizing everything the teacher said. I became acquainted with the saying, "When talent doesn't work hard, hard work beats talent." That semester, and every semester after, I was on the Dean's List, while my second cousin got second honors or less.

In the case of my second cousin, and maybe Donald Trump, when things seem like a sure thing, you kind of coast by. For something like an election, you're not showing that you really want to take on a task, that revolves around leading and helping others.

For the evangelicals and Middle America that somehow rise to Trump,

Is it Trump, from sitting idly/playing victim of the government, or Haley toiling away,

that composes the individual who made 10 coins, 20 coins? Who is coasting by, burying the one advantage, the one coin, they currently have?

Who is the "persistent servant" of the people, who should get the Blessing of Victory from the Divine Master?

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The infamous 14th Amendment used against Trump says:

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

My take:

Everyone gets hung up on the word "insurrection." Trump may not have said, "overthrow the government," but he did instigate a "riot." By now, with his derogatory sayings of court clerks and others, Trump knows those people are going to fall victim to the hate of his supporters. His supporters are a passionate group. They have fire and that's as clear as day. I think it's safe to say, Trump knows of their passion. When he encourages a rigged election notion, he should be cognizant and responsible to expect the kind of reaction received in that fateful January.

That being said, I get hung up on the word "officer of the United States."

Maybe Trump sees himself as Putin. Maybe, just for the 1st day, he wants to be a dictator so that he can "drill, baby, drill" in Alaska to lower gas prices.

However, from his mannerisms, I don't think he, like others, realize that the office of the President is not King or Dictator, but an office of service to the people. It is not an office for praises and glory, but of humility.

In my opinion, the office of the President is the epitome of the line: "officer of the United States."

If the Christ figure, believed as God, in Christianity, can lower Himself to wash the feet of His disciplines, the President, is and can be, an officer of the people. Even if Christ were to be a character in a story, His humble action of washing feet extends into applicable reality.

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If Trump is talent, because of his influence, Nikki Haley is hard work. Trump, just yesterday, was debuting his sneakers, while Nikki Haley was still trying to indicate why she is the better candidate. Again, "when talent doesn't work hard, hard work beats talent." "Heroes come and go, but legends never die."

Heroes make headlines, but legends make history.

Haley knows the numbers. But she still faithfully continues out of conviction.

Trump is saying things like "if Nato members don't pay what's owed, then he will encourage oppressors to rage against them."

A leader, especially the American President is not a tyrant, but a figure of compassion. Haley embodies the latter.

When I write about something, it's usually because it's something thought provoking, that doesn't require much thought: it just flows.

Writing my support of Nikki Haley, is not something I had to think about, especially if you're seeing me type this as I'm typing. It just flowed, from all the things I've seen and heard. I don't have to think about whether she is the right candidate. On people's minds, there is Biden, Trump, Haley. Only Nikki Haley makes sense.

I do not mean to put pressure on one candidate over another, but we need someone sharp, and able to finish sentences and perspectives, as does Nikki Haley, or someone equally good who measures to the bar of hard work she set.

[kmc6024]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[mongowheelie]

Shame, Shame, Shame: You But Indict Yourselves - Raw Story - Celebrating 19 Years of Independent Journalism

[texasobserver]

From “Catastrophe 88,” the Texas Observer guide to the new session of the state legislature, opening tomorrow:

Elections have consequences. This political bromide is overused for a reason—it’s reliably true. And this year, the fallout for vulnerable Texans could be particularly destructive.

After something approaching a blue wave swept across Texas in November 2018, a chastened Republican majority in the Legislature kept its focus in the 2019 session on serious policymaking���school finance and property tax reform—while largely forgoing their typical red-meat fare.

Republicans thwarted expectations of another Democratic surge in November 2020, and the next year the GOP ignored the problems laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing economic crisis, instead focusing on passing as much right-wing legislation as possible over the course of a regular session, plus three painful specials. 

The final outcome was ugly: Abortions were effectively banned by threat of bounty, handgun permits were done away with, voting laws were made more restrictive, transgender kids were targeted with statutory bigotry, and school curricula on race and history were whitewashed. Profound policy problems, meanwhile, were left to fester. 

Critically, the state’s electoral districts were redrawn for the next decade to ensure incumbent Republican majorities will be insulated from electoral backlash while the state’s growing numbers of people of color and Democratic-aligned voters are kept at bay. 

This fresh gerrymander set the table for another Republican rout last November as the GOP maintained strong majorities in the state House and Senate and easily swept the state’s high-powered executive offices—led by Governor Greg Abbott’s 11-point defeat of Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke. 

Firmly in control, Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, and GOP lawmakers are now free to do as they please—to pick up where their vengeful 87th legislative session mercifully left off just over a year ago. 

Some top Republicans hinted during campaign season that they might want to soften the sharpest edges of their draconian and unpopular ban on abortion or pull back on the most extreme parts of their so-called “election integrity” laws. But there’s little reason to think this legislative session will yield moderation. The party’s activist base is eager to continue the march toward one-party authoritarianism, punishing political enemies and catering to political patrons as they go. 

Read the full guide on the Texas Observer.